Yielding coupling-support.



H. F. WOBHNLEY.

YXELDIN') MPMan-H (JOUPLING SUPPORT.

ION FILM) JULY l, 1911y Patented Mar. 1T, 1914.

WITNEssEs 4 J .@mdh

FFFICE.

HARRY F. WUERNLEY, 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 THE WEST- INGHOUSE AIR. BRAKE COMPANY, 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORA- TION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

YIELDING COU'PLING-SUPPORT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mal'. 17, 1914:-

Applcation filed July 1, 1911. Serial No. 636,529.

To all @1J/omit may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY F. lVonuNLEr, a citizen oi' the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Yielding Coupling-Supports, of which the following is a specification.

rIhis invention relates to car couplers, and more particularly to a yielding support therefor. f

It has heretofore been proposed to provide a yielding support for the draw-bar, so that the car coupler is normally held level in position for coupling, but when cars are coupled up, the support is adapted to yield for Yvertical movement of the draw-bar and coupler and thus prevent undue strain and wear in passing over uneven track andthe like.

In prior devices of the above character, the draw-bar is adapted to rest on the yielding support, and where a draw-har of the type adapted for radial movement is employed, it will be seen that the yielding support mustI be designed to permit of this radial ino vement.

The principal object of my invention contemplates mounting the yielding support for the couplerY on the draw-bar, so that the same is entirely independent of the mechanism for supporting and for permitting radial move ment of the draw-bar, thus providing a simple, compact, and cheaply constructed device of this character.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is a vertical section taken at a point intermediate the car center sills, showing a radial draw-bar and coupler with my improvement applied thereto and Fig. 2 an enlarged elevational view of a portion of the draw-bar, showing the yielding' coupler support in sec tion.

As illustrated in Fig'lof the drawing, a drawbar 1, pivoted for radial movement, is mounted between the car center sills 2, and the coupler head 3 is pivotally mounted on the draw-bar 1 for vertical movement by means of a pivot pin 4. Integral with and extending substantially vertically downward from the coupler head 3 is an arm 5 and preferably integral with the pivot end of the draw-bar is a spring pocket or casing 6.

A heavy coil spring 7 is mounted in the casing 6 and a spring plate 8 is adapted to engage the outer end of the spring. A buffer bolt 9 passes through a central aperture in the spring plate S and an aperture in the rear end wall of the casing G. Said bolt is provided with a rounded head 10 adapted to engage with the inner face of the arm 5, and the opposite end of the bolt is screw threaded for a nut l1 adapted when screwed up to hold the parts in position.

It will now be evident that the tension of the springr 7 acting through the bolt 9 serves to normally maintain the coupler head level in position for coupling, while permitting a yielding vertical movement of the coupler head when coupled up, so that in passing over uneven track or in other cases where a vertical movement is required, the roupler head may move on its pivot either above or below the normal center line of the coupler without imposing a strain on the parts.

IIaving now described my invention,what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a pivoted drawbar and a coupler head pivoted to said drawbar, o'f a vertically depending arm carried by the coupler head and a spring actuated buffer mounted on said draw-bar and adapted to engage said arm for yieldingly resisting vertical movement of the coupler head from normal position.

2. The combination with a draw-bar and a coupler head pivoted to said draw-bar, of a casing integral with the pivot end of the draw-bar, a spring mounted in said casing, an arm carried by the coupler head, and a bufling member subject to the compression of the spring for engaging said arm to resist vertical movement lolf' the coupler head..

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HARRY F. WOERNLEY. Witnesses:

A. M. CLnMnNTs, CLYDE V. MCCURDY. 

